Note On Ilgauskas Contract

“I’m sure there are going to be some teams that take a very hard look at me,” Ilgauskas said before the Cavs took on the Denver Nuggets to begin their five-game Western trip Friday night.

“Because so many teams are trying to dump salary, I know the talks are going to pick up.”

The contract

So by trading for a player like Ilgauskas, who makes $11.5 million this season, for a player with a long contract can save a team tens of millions in the future. In Ilgauskas’ case, the offer is potentially even sweeter than normal.

According to a source, Ilgauskas’ payment schedule included half of his salary paid last summer and the rest of the $5.75 million spread out over payments during the season. That means a team that would trade for Ilgauskas would be left with a relatively small prorated portion to pay off Ilgauskas’ remaining salary.

The most a team could save on such a transaction is $3 million, but every little bit helps. Especially because Ilgauskas has a kicker in his contract that would award him a $1.7 million trade bonus.

Good news — an extra chunk of his contract is already paid.
Bad news — he has a trade kicker which eliminates part of that reward.

More good news — Big Z will consider a buyout if traded (which should cover the trade kicker or close to it)